Spring loaded collet chucking assembly



AIM/Ml!!! T. J. ASHDOWN SPRING LOADED COLLET CH CKING ASSEMBLY May 31, 1949.

Filed April 25, 1946 Patented May 31, 1949 :comizit cnfickiite ASSEMBLY Thomas-J; AsliH iiWnTEast Cleveland,

sig' 'ildrtoilhomiison Products; 'Inc.',

Ohio, as Cleveland,

Ohio, :acofpo'ration of Ohio Aisp'listidirmi'ril25;1946, SefialNo. 664,897

sclsimsmol. 279 -50) This inventibn -deals w1tii--a=-co11"t asse igtlyf" that is loadeda spring in'oifde -td"tigl'itly' f grip a, workpiece irrespective of variations iii the posed collets to securely grip an inserted We piece irrespective of widtdleiaii variatidii'sun the workpiece p p v p This invention will hrei'riafti'fbe specifically described in connection with flying-loaded c0 let chucking sssemb1y ror=poppv va1ves'* b:iit should be understood that-ithe' principles of tiii 1 invention are applicable "to colle'ts' o'i gi ipbirig chucks ingeneral; V I 7 In accordance Withthis invent-i i of collets are arranged rergrippifigava1ve ste having a wedge shape'd 1mouthw-epgag all o thecolle'ts in'each set and' urg' lie-seine in gripping engagementwith'thevalvstiii.*- "Ihe collet sleeves have-tapered innr" end face's in spaced opposed relatiditand feceive-af-coilid spring in the form of a ring thefebetweejri. A presure sleevesurrounds-the coliet 'sleeves""afitihs slidablethereon. This piessiiie"sleve hasfa ca recess in its inner'wal1=;" Thefieepfe portions "015 this recess are adaptedto'receive theeantsprin 30v.

without causing the spring "to lea-d the i cqlletj sleeves. When the 'pres'sute'sle'v'f is shifted" on the" collet sleeves to move the shallowwortiofis of the" cam recessinto"positioi1 collet springthe springurged radiantme ia to act on the tapered end faces of the pressti sleevesthefebyfoi'cii'igl'tfi sleeveseparta ciinte wedg'irig engagerfi with the "colletsf" This catissthe "co llets to ine nsei'td valveystmw ee med rangement -is such that the c for slight "radial defoz fiia titin with or valve stems and as the valve stems va;

Each set of collets is'suir'otinde'dbya comet-sleeve 3 nfollowing detailed description sectional view of a portion ofthe collet assemti ting the" position of the"collet spring whe less from normal deformation to carry out-its fuhetien.

It is then an object-of this invention to pfov' e a spring loaded collet-accoiiihiedating fiilfigri ping of workpiece'sva'l ying iii si'zefrom a noi iiial sleeves in tuin are *actuatedbyan annulai spring 5 thatis radiallysfiiffidhy meansef s eam shaped i recess in a pressure sleeve.

A specific object of this invention is to proVid**- a spring loaded double -co11et*az*rangeirient fol firmly gripping -'workpieces''such' as" vawe steinsf l irrespective of variations inthe diameters of said workpieces; v

Other and further objects of this inventiciiwil l be apparent to those" skilled 'in the art-'fro'fn the of the annexe sheets of drawings which;byv'vay of a prefer'r'e example only illustrate oneembodiment of the invention;

On the di'awiiigsz Figure 1 is a longitudinal cross sectional View? with paits in"elevation,*of a spring loaded comet chucking asseinldly accbrding to this invention illustrating the asseiiihly in ope'ndpositibh.

Figure'2 is a views'imilarto Fig; 1 but illusti ating the alsselhbly lOSd "01 locked 130811310111 Figure 3 is a transverse crosssectibnalview with parts in elevation, taken along the line' III- 111 of Fi 1.

FigureA is-afragmentary longitudinal-cross of 1 to illustfating fthe position of the radially loaded to actuate" the collets forerigagifi an oversiz'ed workpiece? Figure 5 is a side'elevational view' of the colit spring before its ends" are brought together 'to'**-" II that is rotatably mounted in a machine (not shown) and conveniently driven by means of a gear I2 formed thereon intermediate the ends thereof. The spindle II has a cylindrical bore I3 therethrough which is threaded and counterbored at its opposite ends. A stop end plate I4 is threaded into one end of the bore I3. An adjustable end plate I5 is threaded into the other end of the bore I3.

A pressure sleeve I6 is slidably mounted in the bore I3 between the end plates I4 and I5. This sleeve It has a cam-shaped recess II in the inner face thereof with a deep portion Ila and a shallow portion [1b. The stop end plate I4 slidably mounts a plurality of pins I8 which act on one end face of the pressure sleeve It to shift the sleeve to the left as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2. The adjustable end plate I5 slidably mounts a plurality of pins I9 to act on the other end face of the pressure sleeve It for shifting the sleeve to the right. This shifting of the sleeve changes the location of the shallow and deep portions of the cam recess II to control operation of the collets as will be hereinafter described. The pins I8 and I9 are selectively engaged by actuating spindle mechanism (not shown).

Opposed collet sleeves 2t and 22 are slidably mounted within the pressure sleeve It. The sleeve 2|] slidably projects into a recess ita in the stop end plate I4. A similar recess I5a is provided in the adjustable end plate I5 for the sleeve 2|.

A collet 22 is disposed in the collet sleeve 2e and is longitudinally slotted inwardly from its outer end to provide a plurality, such as three, gripping fingers 22a each having interior surfaces 22b near their outer ends for engaging the stem S.

The fingers 22a have external shoulders 22c on their outer ends bottomed against the stop end plate I4 within the recess I4a thereof.

The fingers also have tapered wedge faces 22d converging from the shoulders 220 into the tapered mouth a of the sleeve 20. Movement of the sleeve toward the stop plate It will thereby cause the tapered mouth 20a thereof to wedgingly engage the tapered portions 22d of the collet fingers 22a and urge the fingers radially inward so that their surfaces 22b will frictionally grip the valve stem S.

A similar collet 23 is provided in the sleeve 2|. This collet 23 has a set of spring fingers 23a with interior stem gripping portions 2%, exterior shoulders 23c bottomed on the adjustable end plate I5 and tapered head portions 23d converging from the shoulders 23c and seated in the tapered mouth 2Ia of the sleeve 2 I.

A coiled spring 24 is interposed between the inner ends of the collets 22 and 23 and urges these collets toward the end plates l4 and It to be bottomed thereon. It will be noted that the shoulders 22c and 230 of the collets which are bottomed on the end plates I l and I5 respectively are beveled so that radial movement of the collet fingers 22a effects slight axial shifting of the collet and flexing of the spring 24. The spring fingers 22a and 23a of the collets of course tend to move into the position shown in Fig. 1 due to the inherent springiness of the fingers. This outward springing of the finger slides the sleeves 20 and 2| toward each other.

The sleeves 20 and 2I have beveled inner end faces Zilb and 2Ib respectively. These faces converge toward the inside of the sleeves.

In accordance with this invention a coiled spring 25 in the form of a ring is interposed between the sleeves 20 and 2| within the cam recess II of the pressure sleeve I6. As best shown in Figs. 3 and 6 the spring 25 is a cylindrically coiled spring preferably composed of music wire or the like and has coils 25a, of a diameter to fit in the radially outer portion of the space between the collet actuating sleeves 2t and 2|. These coils extend completely around the annular spring. The annular spring is formed from a longitudinal spring shown in Fig. 6 having several reduced diameter coils 25b at one end thereof.

" These reduced diameter coils 25b are inserted into the coils 25a at the other end of the spring as best shown in Fig. 3 to form the ring.

As best shown in Fig. 1 when the pins I8 push the pressure sleeve IE to the left hand end of the spindle toward the adjustable end plate I5, the collet spring 25 is seated in the deep portion ila of the cam recess I! and the spring thereby expands radially into the outer ends of the wedgeshaped groove provided between the tapered or beveled end faces 20b and 2|b of the collet sleeves 20 and 2*I respectively. In this position the spring 25 does not act on the sleeves 2i] and 2| and the inherent resiliency of the collet fingers 22a and 23a, respectively slide the collet sleeves 2t and 2I toward each other thereby releasing the valve stem S.

As shown in Fig. 2 when the pins I9 push the pressure sleeve Iii to the right toward the stop end plate I4, the shallow portion Ilb of the cam recess [1 receives the collet spring 25. This shal- 10w recess portionradially loads the spring 25 to force it into the tapered groove provided by the end faces 2% and 2Ib of the sleeves 2i) and 2|. The sleeves in turn are forced apart to wedgingly engage the portions 22d and 23d of the collets 22 and 23 thereby springing the collet fingers 22a and 23a radially inward so that their surfaces 22b and 23b will grip the valve stem S and fixedly retain the poppet valve P in position. The position illustrated in Fig. 2 shows the defor1nation of the spring 25 when the valve stem S is of normal diameter. In this condition the sleeves 20 and 2| cannot move apart sufficiently to accommodate the full circular dimension of the coils 25a of the spring 25 because the surfaces 22?: and 23b of the spring collet fingers engage the stem S before the spring 25 is fully seated in the shallow recess I'Ib. Therefore to accommodate full movement of the pressure sleeve It the spring 25 is radially flattened and its coils 25a are deformed substantially into the shape shown. The normal sized stem S is thereby securely gripped by the collet.

In the event that the diameter of the stem S is undersize, the spring collet arrangement of this invention will still tightly grip the undersize stem. In such event, as shown in Fig. 4, the pressure sleeve I6 when shifted to receive the spring 25 into the shallow portion I'i'b of its recess will not deform the coils of the spring because the spring can move inwardly along the end faces 20b and 2Ib of the sleeves 20 and 2| a sufficient distance to avoid deformation. This is made possible by the fact that the collet sleeves 2!! and 2| move apart a sufficient distance to accommodate the full-normal size coils 25 therebetween. At the same time however the sleeves 20 and 2| are moved to wedgingly engage the collets for radially deforming the collet fingers into tight gripping engagement with the undersize valve stem.

As showninFig. 5 when the valve stem is oversize the pressure sleeve 21 will accommodate the spring 25 in the shallow recess lib thereof only by materially deforming the coils of the spring as shown. In this event the sleeves 29 and 21 cannot be moved far enough apart to accommodate the inward movement of the spring it; along their tapered end walls 29b and 21,2). As a result the spring coils must be materially deformed or flattened radially as indicated. However, the spring 25 will still -be effective to force the sleeves 20 and 2i apart for closing the collets tightly against the oversize valve stem.

It will be readily appreciated that unless a deformable collet sleeve actuator is used, the pressure sleeve i6 could only be effective to operate the collets for engaging a normal sized valve stem and if the valve stem were undersized it would not be gripped by the collets whereas if it were oversize either the pressure sleeve or the spreader for the collet engaging sleeves would be damaged.

The spring loaded collets of this invention therefore carry out a function not capable of being performed heretofore in that a cam arrangement can be used to actuate the collets between open and closed positions and still accommodat variable sized workpieces.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of .construction may be varied through a Wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A chuck assembly comprising a collet adapted to grip and release an inserted workpiece, a shiftable member arranged to move said collet into gripping position and to release said collet from gripping position, a spring device for shifting said member, and an actuator for loading said spring device to effect shifting of the member, said spring device adapted to absorb excess movement imparted thereto, by said actuator for preventing damage to said shiftable member.

2. A chuck assembly comprising a collet, a sleeve embracing said collet for radially loading the collet into gripping relation with an inserted workpiece, said sleev having a beveled end face, a collet spring in the shape of a ring bottomed on said beveled end face of the sleeve, and means for radially loading said spring to act on the beveled end face of the sleeve for shifting the sleeve to move the collet into gripping positions.

3. In combination a .collet, a collet actuating sleeve embracing the collet, an annular coiled spring acting on said sleeve, and shiftable means for radially loading said coiled spring to cause the spring to urge the sleeve in a direction for closing the collet.

4. In combination in a chuck assembly, a collet, a collet actuating sleeve surrounding said collet, a pressure sleeve surrounding said collet actuating sleeve and slidable thereon, and a resilient member co-operating with said pressure sleeve to move said collet actuating sleeve for closing said collet, said pressure sleeve being movable into locking position for holding said collet actuating sleeve against backward movement regardless of variation in the size of work gripped by the collet.

5. In combination in a chuck assembly, a pair of opposed collets, pressure sleeves slidable on said collets and having opposed tapered end faces, said pressure sleeves having Wedge-shaped mouths adapted to wedgingly-engage the collets for radially contracting the same, a single pres sure sleeve surrounding both of said sleeves, a coil spring within said pressure sleeve between the tapered end faces of the collet sleeves, said pressure sleeve having a cam recess of variable depth for radially shifting said collet spring to spread said collet sleeves apart and thereby close the collet, and a body member having a central cylindrical apertur adapted to receive in guiding relation the single pressure sleeve and having a gear connection for rotating said chuck assembly.

6. In combination in a chucking assembly, a pair of opposed collets, pressure sleeves slida'ble on said collets and having opposed tapered end faces, said pressure sleeves having wedge-shaped mouths adapted to wedgingly-engage collets for radially contracting the same, a single pressure sleeve surrounding both of said sleeves, a coil spring within said pressure sleeve between the tapered end faces of the collet sleeves, said pressure sleeves having a cam recess of variable depth for radially shifting said coil spring to spread said collet sleeves apart and thereby close the collets, and a body member having a central cylindrical aperture adapted to receive in guiding relation said single pressure sleeve, a plate member disposed at either end in said central aperture, each plate member having a plurality of axially extending guide holes, and push rods disposed in said guide holes for moving said Single pressure sleeve axially of said chucking assembly.

THOMAS J. ASHDOVVN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,316,709 Gray Sept. 23, 1919 1,862,856 Johnson June 14, 1932 2,062,628 Yannetta Dec. 1, 1936 2,063,718 Berndt Dec. 8, 1936 2,143,010 Imblum Jan. 10, 1939 2,310,259 Ruppel Feb. 9, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 434,583 Germany Sept. 25, 1926 315,906 Germany Nov. 15, 1919 

